Scottish children's writer and illustrator

Debi Gliori (born 1959) is a Scottish writer and illustrator of children's books.

Contents

• 1 Life and career
• 2 Awards
• 3 Reception
• 4 Other reviews
• 5 Media coverage
• 6 The Tobermory cat
• 7 Selected works
  • 7.1 Series
    • 7.1.1 Pure Dead
    • 7.1.2 Witch Baby
  • 7.2 Collections
  • 7.3 Picture books
  • 7.4 Anthologies (as editor)
  • 7.5 Articles
• 8 References
• 9 Further reading
• 10 External links

Life and career

Gliori was born in Glasgow and grew up there as an only child. She started writing children's books in 1976 and attended art school in Edinburgh from 1979 to 1984. She then received an Andrew Grant travelling scholarship award to go to Milan, and worked as a freelance from 1984. In 1989, independent children's book publisher Walker Books signed her, and she acquired an agent three years later.

Gliori is the creator of many children's books including the Mr Bear picture book series. She wrote the black comedy Pure Dead series for older children, with Pure Dead Magic being her first novel.

Gliori lives in Haddington, East Lothian.

Awards

Mr. Bear won the Red House Children's Book Award for picture books in 1997. Mr. Bear to the Rescue was shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway Medal in 1997; Mr. Bear Babysits, Mr. Bear's Picnic and Mr. Bear to the Rescue were all awarded a Gold award in the Pe* Filous Best Toy Awards, and Mr. Bear Says Goodnight was chosen for the Booktrust's Bookstart project. Where, Oh Where, is Baby Bear? was shortlisted for the Sainsbury's Baby Book Award in 2001. Always and Forever, written by Alan Durant and illustrated by Debi Gliori, was shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway Medal in 2003. Her work has also been shortlisted for the Scottish Arts Council Award (for Pure Dead Wicked in 2003), and for the Royal Mail Award (for Stormy Weather in 2010).On 6 November 2018 she was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Letter at Strathclyde University.

Reception

What's the Time, Mr Wolf?Reviewing the same work in We Love This Book, Caroline Downie writes, "Gliori's illustrations are a delight, full of detail and surprises", with "so many things on each page to discover, share, count and laugh at."

On the Booktrust website, What's the Time Mr Wolf? is described as "a delightful story, inspired by traditional fairy tales as well as the familiar playground game, 'What's the Time Mr Wolf?'" The reviewer found the book to contain much "lively detail" and "beautiful illustrations" and suggested that it would make a perfect and soothing bedtime story.

At SchoolZone, schools librarian Joy Court found What's the Time Mr Wolf? to be "an enchantingly original story" and "a delight to read aloud". She writes that the book is "perfect for practising telling the time" and for the educational Key Stage 1.

At Parents in Touch, the reviewer writes that the book is humorous, "filled with much loved characters" and contains "catchy text" which is "a joy to read aloud". The reviewer adds that the illustrations are "packed with thoughtful detail" and an "utter delight".

Other reviews

• Craig, Amanda (3 November 2012). "Children's book of the week: The Tobermory Cat". The Times. News Corporation. Retrieved 3 November 2012. (subscription required)

Media coverage

• Harrison, Jody (10 May 2012). "Fur flies over creative rights for Tobermory's ginger cat". The Herald. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
• Staff. "Tobermory Cat the claws are out". Explore Mull. Archived from the original on 28 October 2012. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
• Munro, Alistair (10 May 2012). "Artist accuses writer of stealing cat story idea from Facebook". The Scotsman. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
• Flood, Alison (30 October 2012). "Cat at centre of bitter children's book scrap". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
• Craig, Amanda (3 November 2012). "Children's book of the week: The Tobermory Cat". The Times. News Corporation. Retrieved 3 November 2012. (subscription required)
• Staff (7 November 2012). "Un*led (about the Tobermory cat)" (iPlayer video). Reporting Scotland. BBC Scotland. Retrieved 8 November 2012. The programme was broadcast at 6:30pm, UK time, on 7 November 2012. The piece runs from 24:33 onwards and was available online until 6:59pm on Thursday 8 November 2012.
• Staff (7 November 2012). "Buaireadh mu chat ann am Muile" (video). BBC Naidheachdan. BBC Television. Retrieved 8 November 2012. The BBC Scotland piece is also available in this Gaelic language version. (in Scottish Gaelic)

The Tobermory cat

Two small cats known as The Distillery Cats appear on The Tobermory Distillery Sign. In 2012, the origin of the idea of Gliori's book, 'The Tobermory Cat' came under fierce online dispute. There have been a number of creative works using the name "Tobermory", most notably an illustrated children's book, The Tobermory Cat by Debi Gliori and the earlier Facebook page and book en*led Tobermory Cat by the Isle of Mull artist Angus Stewart.

Selected works

Series

Pure Dead

Pure Dead Magic (2001)Pure Dead Wicked (2002)Pure Dead Brilliant (2003)Deep Trouble (2004) aka Pure Dead TroubleDeep Water (2005) aka Pure Dead BattyDeep Fear (2006) aka Pure Dead FrozenPure Dead Magic / Pure Dead Wicked / Pure Dead Brilliant (omnibus) (2004)

Witch Baby

Witch Baby and Me (2008)Witch Baby and Me Go to School (2009)Witch Baby and Me After Dark (2009)Witch Baby and Me on Stage (2010)

Collections

Debi Gliori's Bedtime Stories (2002)

Picture books

Anthologies (as editor)

Noisy Poems (1997)Book of Nursery Rhymes (2001)

Articles

• Gliori, Debi (22 August 2012). "Amnesty teen takeover: Debi Gliori's top 10 books with pictures that open your eyes to the world". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved 27 October 2012.

References

Further reading

• Bale, Karen (7 October 2012). "Children's best-selling author reveals her garden is where she finds her inspiration". Daily Record. Retrieved 2 November 2012.
• Staff (2012). "Interviews: Armadillo Magazine: Nursery Rhymes and Picture Books with Debi Gliori". Armadillo Magazine. Retrieved 2 November 2012.

External links

• Official website
• Blog (official)
• Biography at Bloomsbury Publishing
• Gallery at Booktrust
• Debi Gliori at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database

Videos

• Debi Gliori talks about her book The Trouble With Dragons on YouTube